The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1887-08-05
The state Of Mississippi.


Memphis Appeal.
What makes the State of Missis-
sippii The people, the whole BODY
of the people. What is the condi.
tion of those people in respect to
laws 7 1t IS that of respect aud ODE
dience. They make tue laws and
they obey them. What relation,
theu. does the jackson penitenti-
ary ring bear to tue whole body OF
the people of the State 7 Merely
that of Numbers. They are, per-
baps dozen or so out of twelve
hundred thousand.
They stand singular and alone,
their chief loaded with murder,
and covered with the Infamy of in.
humanly aud brntalIy and cruelty
treating the cOnvicts he leases, so
that the flesh is cut from their
bodies with whips aud their leet
tester and rot, the result of expos
ure to frost. Having no right to
represent Mississippi, or to assume
that they are the State, why do
they continue to insist that the
Appeal has been and is still assail-
ing the Statei 1t is that they may
escape the vengeance of the people
by putting the State in their place.
Can they thus escapef No. Are
you sure Quite sure. OF tho
eighty -four papers published in
Mississippi only twelve of them in
the least sustain Hamilton, the
murderer of Gambrell, the lessee Of
the Penitentiary, the vice -presi,
deut of the Ship Island railroad
and the boss of thering.
Seventy-twO of the journals out
of the State condemn tue brutal
murder, the gross atrocity of which
is realized in the smashing of the
skull of the dying man, literally
hamnering the life out of him.
True to the hopes which their fa-
theirs had in view in founding a no.
ble commonwealth, the people of
Mississippi are for peace, for q free
press and for tree speech. These,
they know, are essential elements
to the maintainance of a free State,
and they condemn Hamilton aud
his murderous gang for seeking to
muzzle free press by the murder
ofan editor. Hamilton may have
his partisans, be may be feted and
toasted, may be the recipient of the
gentle attentions OF lovely bat mis-
guided women, he is a doomed
man. He may escape the gallows,
aud thus cheat justice OF its due;
but he cannot reverse the unanimi.
ty of public sentiment, which con-
demns him and his aids and his
abettors. The people of Mississippi
put the mark of Cain upon him, and
he cannot escape.
But the people go further; they
have marked the men who have
been his plant and supple tools in
office, and have determined to be
done with them forever. Murder
ers are to be punished aud murders
made odius, and the officials who
have lent themselves to the perpe-
tratiOn OF nefarious ring, in ignO-
rance or with knowledge, will never
again be trusted, will never again
be officers or representatives Of
State. No ring has ever 10 the
United States perpetuated itself
beyond the day of its exposure.
Tue great body of the people are
honest and are pursuing honest
ways, and they will not tolerate
dishonest public servants a moment
utter that dishonesty is made plain.
The days OF the Hamilton gang
ire numbered. Their strength
vent out iu the murder of Gam
'rell. They cannot survive or re-
uperate Hereafter it will be po-
tical suicide for any mau in Mis-.
issippi to be identified with that
ing or any of the political puppets
ThOm it managed and manipulated.
hey are all marked, they are all
nOwn. Their best words hereafter
ill be as poison, their help as
he stroke of palsy, blighting all
ley touch.